Japan nuclear plant conditions worsening, local media reports

The Kyodo news agency says the cooling system has failed at three reactors at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan and that the coolant water's temperature has reached boiling level.

The emergency cooling system of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture… (European Pressphoto Agency )

Conditions appear to be worsening at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan, according to local media.

The Kyodo news agency reported that the cooling system has failed at three reactors of Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant. The coolant water's temperature had reached boiling temperature, the agency reported, citing the power plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power.

The cooling system failure at the No. 2 power plant came after officials were already troubled by the failure of the emergency cooling system at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, which officials feared could cause a meltdown.

Authorities have ordered the evacuation of all civilians in a two-mile radius around the No.1 plant, a total of about 3,000 people, and planned to vent slightly radioactive steam from the plant, located about 160 miles north of Tokyo.

A properly functioning cooling system is critical to keep radioactive material from escaping the nuclear reactor's containment zone.